Columbus continues to climb the ladder back to .500 with a 5-2 record over the past week and are now just one game away from the mark at 69-70. They’ve been mathematically eliminated from the International League West Division as the Indianapolis Indians took home the title with ease. There is still a glimmer of hope for the Wild Card spot but it’s not very likely that the Clippers will seize it as they are 5.5 games back with just 5 games left to play.

The Clippers opened the week by winning a four-game home series with the Gwinnett Braves. Right-hander Josh Tomlin had a solid performance and homer runs by outfielder Tim Fedroff andMatt Carson lead the way to an 11-4 romping of the Braves in game one. Columbus fell in a tight 4-3 contest the following day but bounced back to take the third game 4-3 thanks to a 3-hit game by infielder Ryan Rohlinger. Starter Joe Martinez pitched well in the finale to earn his team a 2-1 victory.

The next series came in Louisville and Columbus won of the first three affairs. Right-hander Paolo Espino took a slim 1-0 lead heading into the seventh innings but surrendered two runs to the Bats which eventually lead to the Clippers’ demise. However, Tomlin turned in another positive outing in the second game en route to a 3-0 shutout and first baseman Chun-Hsiu Chen paced Columbus to a 7-4 triumph in game three by launching a grand slam over the right-center field fence. The Clippers and Bats will play their final matchup of the year Thursday.

Catching Wind

Rohlinger has been an under the radar player all season long for Columbus and has provided some clutch hitting for the Clippers. This week he racked up a .333 average and .429 on-base percentage while scoring three runs, belting a homer and notching four RBI. If not for being added to the temporary inactive list on Aug. 26, the infielder could have potentially had an even better week.

Hermida has had his fair share of slumps in 2013 but there is no doubt that he can knock the cover off of the ball and find ways to get on base. The slugger plated three runs and collected three doubles while hitting for an impressive .364 with a .391 OBP over his last seven contests. The facet of his game that has prevented him from being a full-time major leaguer is his astronomical strikeout rate. He fanned a total of 10 times this past week and ranks second in the IL with 147 swings and misses. Perhaps that is why Cleveland decided to promote fellow outfielder Matt Carson instead of Hermida.

The left-hander has been on a tear as of late and is looking strong as the season comes to an end. In three appearances over the week, Hagadone secured two saves, won a decision on Aug. 24 and did not allow a hit through his four innings of work. On the year at Triple-A, the southpaw is 2-2 with a 2.32 ERA and seven save in 31 frames (26 games). It’s difficult to tell if Hagadone will make his return to Cleveland in September but it’s certainly a possibility.

Stranded at Sea

Fedroff’s season has been a bit of a disappointment considering he won the Lou Boudreau Award for the organization’s top Minor League position player a year ago. On July 1, Fedroff was leading the team with a .276 average but it has been on the decline ever since, dropping 33 points to .243. In his previous 19 at-bats, the outfielder came up with just one hit but it was a big one- a three-run blast against the Gwinnett Braves on Aug. 22. It would be nice to see Fedroff rebound over these last several games so that he has something to strive off of heading into next season.

Carrying the primary catching duties in the second portion of the season, Perez has not been very exciting at the dish. After a dim 2-for-14 week with seven strikeouts, Perez’s season average now sits at .181. In 66 games with the Clippers, he has hit just 12 extra-base hits, all doubles. Perez has also struck out more times (56) than he has walked (22). It’ll be interesting to see if Cleveland decided to hold on to him come next year.

Important Numbers

1: The end is nigh. With five games remaining, the Clippers elimination number for the Wild Card is now one.

42: With his most recent stolen base on Aug. 28, outfielder Ezequiel Carrera now has 42 base swipes on the year which ranks second in the IL behind Louisville outfielder Billy Hamilton (73).

On The Move

August 22

RHP Josh Tomlin added on Major League injury rehab assignmentC Lou Marson returned to Cleveland from Major League rehab assignment

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!